Blood Moon Series
Chapter 2
A pack of small wolves sprang from the edge of the forest, heading straight for her. Leila managed to stay on her feet after the first wave, but the second one knocked her down.
The pups whined and pawed at her when she didn’t shift. With a sigh, she scratched behind the ear of the nearest pup.
“Not today,” Leila said, her voice heavy with disappointment. She sat up quickly when she heard the house door open, followed by the familiar sound of footsteps on the wrap-around porch.
“Leila, where have you been?” Her mother, Adelina, called from the porch, her thick Romanian accent coloring her words. Her tone was annoyed, but Leila could hear the underlying worry in her voice.
A wave of guilt washed over her.
Adelina took in Leila’s dirt-covered clothes and hair, her face growing even more disapproving.
“You don’t have time to change, they’re in the backroom,” Adelina said, her voice stern.
Leila shot the pups a playful glare for getting her into more trouble before she pushed herself up and headed toward the house.
She couldn’t help but shoot a hateful glance at the familiar SUVs that carried such a repugnant scent as she walked past them up the driveway.
She couldn’t stand those females.
Behind her, Egnel was scolding the pups in First Tongue—the language of their ancestors. Every wolf knew it, but only purebloods still spoke it fluently.
They were born with the ability to. Her pack, the Copiii lunii, was the last pureblood pack in existence.
The sound of children’s laughter soon replaced the wolves’ whines as Egnel continued his lecture on how it was disrespectful to knock down an alpha blood.
Leila glanced back.
The naked little ones were scrambling around, gathering their clothes to redress themselves. It was clear they couldn’t care less about what he said.
Pups were wild like that.
“I told you to be back before breakfast,” Adelina said once Leila was within comfortable speaking distance, but there was no anger in her voice.
Leila didn’t look at her, she just walked right past her, her shoulders slumped.
“Leila,” her mom said gently, catching her arm. Leila paused but kept her eyes averted.
Their relationship hadn’t been the same since that terrible day two weeks ago. Not that she blamed her mother. They had no choice.
They had made a pact with the wrong pack many, many years ago.
They had all been deceived.
And now her mother and grandfather had to think of the pack, not her. They were alphas first and foremost, and her family second.
Though she was prepared to do what she had to for her pack, it didn’t make it sting any less.
It didn’t make it any easier to swallow.
Adelina sighed and let go of her.
“Behave. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Adelina warned in Romanian.
Leila just gave a slight nod and entered the house. She hated the scent of those females. Even from the other side of the house, they offended her nose.
Everyone she passed on the way to the backroom seemed just as irritated as she was by the intruders, but it was clear they were trying their best not to show it.
The females met her gaze with a respectful nod, but the males avoided her eyes. She made them visibly uncomfortable, and she didn’t need to pretend to know why.
She was an unmated female nearing her heat.
“Leila, you’re late,” Olivia said, her disapproval clear the moment Leila walked into the parlor.
Leila’s eyes snapped to her soon-to-be “mother-in-law” as the humans would call it. She had short black hair and blue eyes.
She was in her sixties, but wolves aged slower than humans as their lifespans were longer, so she could probably pass for a woman in her thirties. She had no wrinkles yet.
Her mother Elodie sat beside her. Leila guessed she was likely in her eighties but looked roughly in her fifties.
Clearly, she had lived a pampered life. She had brown hair and unkind brown eyes. Leila often wondered if her face was even capable of not scowling.
Lastly, Cecilia, her soon-to-be “sister-in-law” took after her grandmother’s looks. Cecilia was closer in age to Leila’s mother.
It just made the thought of mating her brother even more repulsive. Although sometimes large age gaps were unavoidable for her kind, she felt this was ridiculous.
Gregor was more than twice her age.
“Sit, we have much to discuss,” Olivia said, her tone sharp.
She was acting as if she owned the place. Leila hardened her eyes and remained standing. All three females’ expressions darkened.
“We have many details to discuss before Friday. You have not been present, that stops today,” Olivia said, her voice harsh.
Leila bristled. She was an alpha daughter and a pureblood at that. This woman was beneath her. It angered her inner wolf that she was trying to tell her what to do.
“Leila, sweetheart. Sit for a moment. We just have to go over a few things before tomorrow,” Adelina spoke gently from behind her.
Leila relaxed only when she felt her mother’s hand on her back.
She was young and impulsive still. The alpha blood in her was still hot from the hormones of new maturity. “It will get easier to control when you are older,” her mother would often tell her.
The fact that it was close to the equinox moon didn’t help either—it spiked her agitation.
Adelina gave her another look when she didn’t immediately sit. It was a warning. She was not acting like her mother now—she was her alpha.
It was a reminder that they had no other choice. This was for their pack. They were not weaker, but they were smaller.
They didn’t have the numbers to protect themselves from such a larger pack.
Leila stiffly sat down in the furthest seat she could. As they started to talk about everything she didn’t care about, she glanced out the wall of windows to watch the trees sway in the light breeze.
This wasn’t a damn human wedding. They followed a more Pagan-style celebration. Everything was simple, organic, and natural.
So what other damn details needed going over? How could they not see that this was painful for her?
How many times had they been here over the last two weeks? She was annoyed and tired of their presence.
She only had two days left of freedom. Couldn’t they just leave her alone?
“Leila, are you even listening?” Olivia snapped.
Leila shot her a blank look. She was holding a white dress. Where had that come from?
“Yes, what?” Leila retorted, her tone sharp.
She had to resist the urge to look at her mother’s disapproving face.
“Don’t you care at all? Most girls would be over the moon to be mated with an alpha as powerful and influential as Gregor,” Cecilia piped up.
Leila held her tongue, fearing she might say something she’d regret.
It’s for the pack. Joana did this selflessly. I can too, she started to chant in her mind. It was the only way she was going to survive this.
“Get up. We need to see how it fits,” Olivia commanded.
Leila looked at the dress with revulsion. Not because it was ugly, but because of what it symbolized.
I’ll be living with my sister again, Leila added to her mental mantra, trying to stifle the rising panic. Olivia let out an exasperated sigh when Leila didn’t immediately obey and turned to Adelina.
“How have you let her grow up so disrespectful to her elders? A proper alpha female would ensure the obedience of her females, especially her own daughter,” Olivia said with a sneer.
Leila risked a glance at her mother. Even though Leila knew her mother must be seething, she didn’t show it.
Adelina always kept her cool; she was a true alpha female through and through. Leila, on the other hand, had a hard time hiding her feelings. She clenched her jaw.
This woman was unbearable.
“You know how young alphas are, it takes them time to mature into their restraint. One shouldn’t overly suppress them. Those who learn naturally through their own mistakes make for better alphas,” Adelina replied calmly.
Olivia laughed.
“Oh come now. Strict discipline early and often, that’s what makes a restrained pup. Alpha or not.” Olivia continued to laugh as if what Adelina had said was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
Adelina’s face remained serene. Leila just stared at the woman as if she had lost her mind. It took Olivia a moment to regain her composure.
“Now Leila, enough with the attitude,” Olivia said, her tone suddenly serious.
Her face hardened.
“We don’t have much time. It’s a miracle we managed to get this all done in just two weeks,” Olivia stated.
“And I would hate to have to report back that you were uncooperative,” Olivia concluded.
A thinly veiled threat.
The room grew even more tense. The three clueless women didn’t seem to notice, or maybe they just didn’t care, but their Ruguru enforcers did.
They had brought along four; they stood at the edge of the room, their eyes averted out of respect.
All were rather large and intimidating. But they were nothing compared to the man standing in the other corner of the room. Occasionally, they would cast a nervous glance at Beryx.
Beryx could easily take all four of them without breaking a sweat, and they knew it.
He was her mother’s enforcer. Six-foot-eight, blue eyes, reddish-brown hair with a full thick beard. He was a formidable man.
To anyone else, he was a hulking, terrifying nightmare, but to Leila…she always thought he looked like a big cuddly teddy bear.
Traditionally, the alpha female’s enforcers were the strongest in the pack, and Beryx was no exception. He had been her mother’s enforcer her entire life, so Leila knew him well.
He was like family to her too.
Leila stole a quick glance at Beryx. She could tell he was on edge; his eyes were focused on the unwelcome enforcers.
All he needed was Adelina’s command and they would all be dead. But that would just start a war they couldn’t win.
They would lose everything. Their home, their freedom, and probably their lives.
Gregor had well over five thousand wolves, maybe more, in his pack, spread throughout his six territories, run by gammas.
They had only one hundred and six, most of whom were young or elderly. They could win a battle, but not a war.
And if they offended the Rugurus, all the Ruguru allies would be forced to turn against them too.
They would have nowhere to hide. The Rugurus had connections to packs all over the world. With that thought, Leila took a slow breath.
Continue to the next chapter of Blood Moon Series